Industry - the karaoke
business operates on a very basic premise: everybody wants to be a star.
At least, that's what karaoke system manufacturer VocoPro is banking on.

"I don't care if
they're 16 or 70 years old, people like to get up and perform," said L.J.
Jansoik, vice president of sales and marketing. "Everybody's a singer these
days," Based in Industry, VocoPro builds everything from in-home systems to
full-scale club models, hoping the karaoke craze that has existed in Asian
markets for more than two decades will catch on in America.

"Karaoke started
in Japan about 20 years ago and now 81 percent of the population has a machine
in their home,' said Jason Hou, VocoPro's director of sales. "We believe that
in the next 5 to 10 years, we'll have the same types of percentage here."

Currently though,
a major portion of the company's business comes from commercial sales to bars
and clubs, which are finding that karaoke can improve their bottom line.

"Bars and clubs generate
a lot more revenue with karaoke than without and that's why they are so popular,"
Hou said.

Clubs that offer
karaoke can draw in extra patrons and make extra money by selling people tapes
of their performance, according to Hou.

With more than 30
restaurants and bars in San Gabriel Valley offering karaoke at least one night
a week, the trend is paying off.

"The more people
we can bring in here, that's just money in our pockets," said Elias Preciado,
manager of La Fiesta restaurant in Covina. "As soon as people sit down, they
order a drink and maybe some appetizers."

While the commercial
market is the company's stable, Janosik says the consumer market is wide open
and vastly untouched. Both he and Hou see the convenience of the in-home systems
as their most appealing feature. "It's a lot more family use-based because
they either can't or won't take their kids to a bar," said Janosik. "We're
on the very front end of the consumer market."

In a good week, the
privately owned company sells more than 500 systems through a network of distributors
in the United States and Canada. The machines range in price from just over
$499 for a consumer model to more than $20,000 for commercial system.